Degrassi: Homecoming
by ShawnMcClean
Summary: This is an AU story about the return of Toby Isaacs to Degrassi Community School, as Liberty tries to navigate parenthood with her son James, and his friends at Degrassi.
1. Chapter 1

Liberty Van Zandt squinted a little to see the time on the clock above her stove, but then realizing that her vision was even worse than she'd perceived, she grabbed her glasses, making a mental note to pick up her new contact lenses before work. After putting on her glasses and seeing the time, she opened her mouth to yell upstairs to her son, but right on cue, he zoomed past her.

"Off to school, Liberty."

With an unusually wet peck on the cheek he grabbed his lunchbox from the kitchen counter and headed for the door, but as he'd already predicted, she stopped him.

"Uhh...wait right there." Liberty called out. She turned around to look at him, and with a quick roll of her eyes, she sighed. "Jay, I thought we discussed this..."

"My name is Scott, and discussed what, Liberty?"

She could tell by his sarcastic yet subtly confrontational tone that this was going to be another one of those 'rough mornings' that she'd spend the rest of her day reviewing in her mind. For a moment, she considered telling him that his brat-ish behavior would not be tolerated in her house, and that he needed to be more respectful to her, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It hadn't been long enough.

So instead, all she could do was take a deep breath and then point at his ensemble. "This-...your outfit." she spoke in muted disgust. "We talked about this, and I thought we'd agreed that you would brighten up your wardrobe a bit."

He laughed. "I'm 14 years old, 6 feet tall, and my locs are down to my back. I'm sure wearing black is the least attention grabbing aspect on me."

Liberty half-smiled. "Well, yeah I guess. But-...what about the silver chain I bought you?"

With a bit more enthusiasm than normal, his eyes widened and he jumped at the opportunity to lift his black shirt, revealing a silver chain that looped through his belt hold on his black jeans. "It's right here."

In disbelief, Liberty's mouth dropped open. "Jay, that was a four hundred dollar chain."

"I know. Isn't is awesome?" he spoke, before once again turning toward the door. "And for the last time, my name isn't James...it's Scott." he said before throwing up his eyes and darting out of the door.

"Well have a good-" noticing that he was already halfway down the street, she sighed and mumbled "day", before flopping down on the chair at the kitchen table. Looking down at her reflection on her phone, she shook her head, thinking to herself, _Liberty woman, what ARE you doing?_

Her reflection quickly cut away to a notification on her phone. Seeing the name Toby Isaacs light up on her screen, Liberty curiously opened the notification, only to see the caption "Isaac's Triumphant Return". With narrowed eyes, she looked at the picture of Toby, now sporting a full grown beard and visibly a bit more in shape than before, and she chuckled, before reading. "The famed scientist responsible for discovering the herb-based medicine 'Thorexin', the medicine that infamously saved the life of actress Heather Sinclair, has returned home to Toronto. In a recent interview with Bossip, Isaacs reportedly returned home to 'show that great things come out of Degrassi, and to help cultivate a new generation'. Isaacs was a 2007 graduate himself from Degrassi Community School, and later went on to be one of the largest sponsors for the school. In fact, the football field now dawns the name 'Toby Isaacs Stadium'. Isaacs returns to his alma mater today, just in time for his first day as head of the Science department at Degrassi"

In disbelief, Liberty just stared down at the phone, and as if already her inadequacy wasn't showing through this morning, the feeling intensified. "Great", she murmured, grabbing her phone and rushing back upstairs to finish preparing for work.

* * *

"Name?"

"Scott Donaldsen".

Scott looked down at the floor timidly as the counselor rummaged through what seemed to be tons of files, and for what seemed like minutes, she began to hum an annoying, blatantly off-key tune. Awkwardly Scott looked up at her stringy black hair, and when their eyes met, he quickly broke eye contact, looking back down at the floor. Obviously his eyes were enough to tell her that she was annoying him, because she finally stopped the humming and cleared her throat before muttering, "sorry."

Scott shrugged his shoulders haphazardly.

"Well, Scott, there's obviously been some sort of mistake. I checked our database, and even looked through all of these files. We don't have you in our system." Her eyes looked concerned. "Is your mother here?"

"My mother is-..." he suddenly stopped. "No, she's not here. Try James Van Zandt."

Still with concern, she typed in the name, and then a slight smile creased her face. "James Tiberius Van Zandt" with the click of a button, his schedule printed, and she turned around to retrieve it. "Is Scott a nickname?"

"No, it's my name. James is-...it's some stupid name Liberty gave me." he responded, before taking the paper from the counselor and then leaving out of the office.

Standing against the wall in the hallway, Scott's best friend...well, Scott's ONLY friend Micah, smiled. "Took you long enough, dude."

Scott grunted. "The psycho strikes again." he said as they headed down the hall.

"Your mom?"

"She's NOT my mom." Scott interrupted quickly. "She's some weirdo who gave me up for adoption, years later changed her mind, fought my parents in court for custody, and now wants to force some random dude's name on me. She's crazy."

Micah glanced over at Scott, and then looked away. He wanted to advise Scott to give Liberty a chance, but he knew it'd be like talking to a brick wall. In fact, Micah had spent the entire summer talking to a brick wall and he knew this time would be no different.

"I just can't wait to graduate this place, and move the hell out of her house." Scott finished, just as they both came to a screeching halt as Micah stuck out his hand in front of Scott to stop him.

Curiously Scott glanced over to Micah, whose eyes were fixed straight ahead, almost as if in a daze. His dry mouth dropped open, and he whispered dizzily, "BEHOLD."

Scott followed Micah's eyes down the hall to Draya Nicks, dressed in a short, body-fitting one piece dress. Her long black hair was brushed to one side and over her shoulder, each strand seemingly covering just enough of her cleavage to keep both boys from being swept up through another horizon by their hormones.

Seemingly unenthused, Scott chuckled. "Why don't you go talk to her?"

"Dude...do you remember what happened the last time I went to talk to her?"

Scott nodded with a nostalgic smile. "Wasn't that the first time Jed beat your ass?"

"Yeah, well it's the first day of school. These chicks left grade 8 with nice smiles and came to grade 9 with boobs the size of melons. I think the least I can do is show how much I've grown as well." With his eyes fixated on Draya, Micah dramatically dropped his Algebra book into Scott's arms. "Watch and learn, kid." Slowly, he took off walking down the hall.

Already embarrassed, Scott covered his face with his hands. "Dude...you don't have to prov-" he stammered. "Okay, so you're just gonna-...you're gonna do it huh...WOW."

Micah, as confident as ever, stepped into Draya's effervescent presence, interrupting her conversation with her best friends Nicole and Sam. It was as if reality slapped him with an entire stack of algebra books when he saw the look of annoyance on Draya's face as her eyes met his.

"Yes?" she questioned.

"Draya-...nice uh-..." he looked down at her breasts, and sheepishly he smiled. "Dress."

"Still a perv, I see." Draya spoke quaintly before rolling her eyes. Slowly, she looked down the hall at Scott, and then she shrugged. "Why don't you go back over there with your loser friend and do something productive...why don't you go find a calendar, count the days, and make sure they're all there?"

Smiling, Micah shrugged his shoulders. "Alright..." he called out, in the midst of all the laughter of Nicole and Sam. "You say that now, but eventually...I'm going to wear you down."

As he turned around, he saw Scott coming towards him. "Bro, just-...come on, let's get to class."

Draya watched Scott pull Micah down the hallway, and with a bit of a frown but a hint of curiosity, she rolled her eyes.

"Micah, aren't you ever gonna get enough of this?"

"NEVER!" Micah interjected with a laugh, before turning to look at Scott. "Dude, you obviously didn't see what I just saw. She's TOTALLY into me."

Sarcastically, Scott nodded. "Of courrrrse"

"And mark my words. By the end of this year, she'll be mine." he finished.

"That sounds like a wager." Scott responded quickly. "How about we add some cash to spice things up a little? Let's say...50 bucks?"

A devilish smile creased Micah's face as he looked down at Scott's extended hand, and then reluctantly shook it. "Deal."


	2. Chapter 2

"Dude, she's totally into me. I mean, normally, when I looked at her boobs, she would've slapped me, but this morning-"

"Her hands were preoccupied with books and a latte." Scott paused. "Which in retrospect could've gone A LOT worse than it actually did."

"EXACTLY!" Micah interjected. "You know, the way I see it..." he leaned back against the cafeteria wall and stretched his arm out, scanning it through the crowd. "Young Simba, all of this...is ours."

"Oh boy...a Lion King reference..."

"Every piece of ass that the light touches belongs to US." Micah chuckled as he glanced over to Scott. "You know, I get the feeling that you aren't grasping the concept of my motivational speech."

"Partly because the flat-chested, acne faced Draya Nicks wanted absolutely nothing to do with you. So just imagine how this NEW Draya feels about you."

Micah paused for a moment of contemplation, and then he shrugged. "Meh..minor details."

"And I suppose that's also what Jed is as well?"

The truth of the matter was, Jed Nelson was no "minor detail". He was the only grade eighter last term that actually played on the varsity football team. To call him a 'big deal' would be an insult to what everyone considered to be the greatest thing to ever step foot into Degrassi Community School.

Micah sighed. "Dude, I don't get it. Sure, he has piercing cold blue eyes, fairly decent blond hair, the body of God, and considerable athletic prowess, but aside from that...what do you have? I mean, you take away the looks, the outgoing personality, the naturally cool swag, and what do you have?"

Scott chuckled. "You."

"I mean, look at him." It was almost as if the jab hadn't landed, but Scott knew that Micah had heard him and had recorded in his mind to come with a retort sooner or later. "The guy doesn't even eat a normal lunch. What kid our age eats egg whites and grilled fish for lunch?"

Shrugging, Scott opened his bottle of apple juice and chugged it, almost like a beer.

"Come to think of it, Jed Nelson is probably some sort of weirdo that's into like animal porn or something."

"Whooa whoa...don't you think that's a bit RANDOM?" Scott questioned, before chuckling. "As a matter of fact, let's just change the subject. I'd RATHER talk about something more important...like me sneaking out of the house tonight to meet you at the theater."

"ORRRRR, instead of sneaking, you could do like I did, and just ASK." Micah replied quickly. "Then again, that would be too much like 'appropriate' for you, wouldn't it?"

"She's like...OBSESSED with me." Scott continued as he stood from the wall and walked over to sit at the empty table in the corner of the cafeteria with Scott following him. "She won't let me out of her sight. She doesn't want me leaving the house at night, she doesn't want me talking on the phone without her knowing who I'm talking to, I can barely take a leak without the woman there to tell me if I'm drinking enough water or not."

"THAT'S it!" Micah interjected as his eyes lit up. "For as 'hot' as everyone thinks Jed is, namely Draya...I bet she'd be grossed out if she were to happen to catch a glimpse of Jed taking a piss."

Confused, Scott just stared straight ahead, away from Micah. "Are you-..." he sighed. "I was gonna ask if you're serious, but clearly you are."

"Or even BETTER, what hot girl like Draya wants to see her boyfriend, and I use that term temporarily, sitting on the toilet, dropping a load?"

Scott pointed to the apple juice bottle. "Dude...I'm trying to enjoy my lunch."

Without response, Micah just nodded his head and a devious smile creased his face. "It's a plan." he said, before standing from the table, and rushing out, with Scott calling after him.

"Wait...WHAT'S a plan? Totally DID NOT agree to any plan here-..." rolling his eyes, Scott leaped from the table to follow his best friend out of the cafeteria, and into the hallway.

*Meanwhile*

Her face drooped a bit, as the sounds of the classical music, just above a whisper at her desk, almost sent Liberty into a full-on hibernation in the middle of her work day. But suddenly, the sound of an iPhone dropping onto her desk broke her from her slumber, causing her to jump a little. Frowning, she glanced down at the phone, and then at her coworker, Natasha, who stood smiling at her.

"Tash...what's this?"

"The answer to our prayers!" Natasha replied as she walked around to sit across from Liberty's desk. "Look at it."

Looking around from the excited smile on Natasha's face, to the phone that was now on her desk, Liberty lifted it, looking at the screen, and then sighed. "What about it?"

"It's HIM...Mr. Degrassi himself...Toby Isaacs! He's back!" she called out.

Liberty carefully placed the phone to the side. "Oh Joy..."

"How's about a little LESS sarcasm, and a little more ENTHUSIASM!" Natasha exclaimed, before standing up and positioning herself, almost in a cheerleading move. "Come on Lib...where's my soror, the one that was the life of the party, the last one to leave the dance floor, the one who got so drunk that night after homecoming that she nearly choked on her own vomit."

Liberty chuckled. "The fact that you're using that as a highlight of the 'good life' is both disturbing and actually sad." she spoke as she stood from her desk. "Besides, It's been YEARS since I've seen Toby and I'm sure he's busy with other things."

"Like what?" Natasha replied quickly. "I wasn't fortunate enough to frequent the hallways of Degrassi Community School, but I know that YOU were. And I also know from some of the drunken rants you went on after our parties, that Toby was your baby daddy's best friend, which means that both you and him have some sort of history."

"Okay...could we like NOT use...'baby daddy' in 2019?" Liberty questioned.

"Oh come on Lib! You're still young, and look at you. Stuck behind a desk, working for a jerk of a boss who is hardly ever here, taking care of a spoiled kid who wants nothing to do with you, and-"

"Hey...hey leave Jay out of this!"

"Fine." Natasha shrugged. "Let's keep the focus on you. Toby Isaacs is a successful business man, signed this HUGE deal with the pharmaceutical industry worth millions of dollars, and...well, let's face it. The guy is so rich he doesn't even need a substantial job anymore, so he comes back to Degrassi to give back to the community by taking over the Science Department at the school...YOUR SON'S school. Need I say more?"

"All of that, and you've said absolutely NOTHING." Liberty replied.

"What I'm saying is, you're here, working a dead end job, totally beneath your skill level, below your pay grade...you quit your job in New York to move back here to take care of Jay, and Lib, I KNOW you're miserable. I can see it in your eyes every single day you have to walk into this hell hole."

"Still not seeing what Toby being back at Degrassi has to do with me."

"He's your ticket OUT of this place." Natasha answered quickly. "You just have to play your cards right."

"I have no cards. I also have no interest in using my friend for his money. That's crazy."

"Ahh...your FRIEND." Natasha repeated as her eyes lit up. "Just what I thought."

"Well luckily for me, your thoughts and my actions typically don't align. Because I have absolutely no intentions of even SEEING Toby any time soon."

Natasha cringed.

Frowning, Liberty side-eyed her. "What's that face for?"

"Well, I-..."

"Tasha, what did you do?"

"Wellll...I mean, you looked so pitiful earlier, and I know Scott-...or Jay...WHOEVER...has been giving you a hard time at home, so I kinda uhh-..." Fiddling with her fingers, Natasha looked down at the floor like a child in trouble, and then finally throwing caution to the wind, she exhaled and shrugged. "I called Degrassi, got in touch with Toby Isaacs, and he's meeting you in an hour at The Dot."

"What?"


End file.
